This invention relates to cake decorating accessories and, more particularly, to cake decorations of an illuminated characteristic, for decorating cakes and other food products.
Ornamentation of various food products, such as cakes, confections, bread loaves, fruit cakes, and various other pastries is often carried out for the celebration of birthdays, holidays and various festive or similar occasions such as parties. And, as is well known, wedding cakes are sometimes very elaborately ornamented by various elaborate devices. Further, it has been proposed to provide various structures for holding candles atop cakes, as disclosed in McNeill U.S. Pat. No. 2,468,505. A decorative illuminating device intended to position light bulbs on a structure presented above a cake is disclosed in Propp U.S. Pat. No. 1,707,539. Marchand U.S. Pat. No. 2,439,178 typifies an illuminated ornament of the type utilized for being placed atop a birthday cake or the like. Biertuempfel U.S. Pat. No. 1,847,687 discloses a cake base having various sockets for electric lights to be powered by household AC voltage.
These typical prior art cake decorating accessories, including those providing electrical illumination, are characterized by structure which extend over or under a cake and which holds candles or light bulbs which project around or above the cake surface. Such devices are not compatible wth the kind of cake decoration where there are, applied to the surface of the cake or other pastry, decorations which are desirably present at the surface of the cake. Thus, it has not been known heretofore to provide illuminated cake decorating accessories in which the illumination is presented at the same level as the upper surface of the cake, so as to blend in with or be compatible with other decorations present on the surface of the cake, etc., nor to provide an effectively concealed, compact lighted decoration wherein the ligh sources, power and circuitry are hidden in an entirely unobvious manner.
Of course, a more mundane, customary or usual manner of cake decoration involves use of candles. Yet, burning of candles as decoration provides a short duration effect; presents the inherent danger of fire as well as posing danger of burns from flame, melting and dripping wax; offers the usually-encountered difficulty in lighting the candles or keeping them burning at the same or desire time; results in uneven burning as well as presenting the unattractive, even repulsive appearance of melted wax and candle matter; and typically is used in conjuction with sugar based decorations which not only are not of good nutritional, healthy character, but are also fragile, thus easily and frequently broken before or after being placed on a cake or the like.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide improved illuminated decorations for cakes and other food products such as pastries, confections, loaves, fruit cakes, and the like, as well as various other edible products which can be ornamentally decorated.
It is another object of the invention to provide an electrically illuminated decoration for a cake or other food product which presents illumination at substantially the level of the upper surface of the cake, etc.
Further objects of the invention are to provide an electrically illuminated cake decorating accessory which is entirely self-contained, including its own long-lasting source of power for illumination; which is extremely compact, being of miniaturized construction; and which, when utilized for cake decorations, is entirely hidden and concealed in use, providing an illumination surface which is essentially flush with an ornament or decoration atop the cake, etc.
Another object of the invention is the provision of such an illuminated cake decorating accessory which provides for use without causing disturbance of the surface of a cake, and without permitting icing, condiments, or other food products from interfering with or entering the illumination mechanism and circuitry therefore.
Yet another object of the invention is the provision of such an illuminated cake decorating accessory which provides an extremely eye-catching, attractive, visual effect for high-lighting and enhancing various cake decoration themes as well as complimenting other decorations and design aspects of cake decorations embodying or used in conjunction with the invention.
A further object of the invention is the provision of such a cake decorating accessory which is battery powered, and which includes a magnetically responsive switching arrangement permitting selective switching on or off of the accessory, such as for convenience or as desired for effect, or to prolong battery life.
A further object of the invention is the provision of such an illuminated cake decorating accessory which provides a wholly novel manner of decorating cakes, etc., by allowing the effective use of various characters, figures, and theme type decorations having illuminated features.
Further objects of the invention include the provision of such a cake decorating accessory which is of a safe, inedible, non-toxic, hygienic character; which is not only reusable but easily cleaned; which is easily assembled and placed in use; which provides extremely quick, efficient cake decoration without the usual elaborate laborious and painstaking effort heretofore required; and which is very economically and easily manufactured, being thus amenable to low-cost production line economy.
Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinbelow.